Chapter 10

Jayden

I have to say, there are definitely perks to having a private plane. Least of all how easy it was to get through the airport to get on board. Which is a good thing since Christmas is less than a week away and the airport was a madhouse. We couldn't leave any earlier because I had one stupid final scheduled for this morning, but now, the plane's on its final descent and then we'll have about an hour drive to get to the house. My parents aren't expecting me until tomorrow, so showing up tonight with Lucy, Liam, and her new family is definitely going to be a shock.

We decided to wait to tell them in person about Liam, so we could explain everything instead of having them rush to New York to see what's going on. Plus it gave Lucy time to get to know her mom, stepdad, and his kids. I'm sure my parents will be jealous that we're now having Sunday brunch with her family, but the city's the place for us.

I wasn't sure I'd like it back when I was determined to get there to find Lucy, but even as crowded as it is, I can't imagine being anywhere else. Lucy already has an offer from her professor for a job in their biochemistry lab once she graduates and she wants to take it. I'm not about to tell her not to when she's worked hard to be the top candidate for the position, especially beating out some of the master's program students for it.

I am glad that she accepted Claire and Kenneth's offer to pay for her part of the apartment until she officially graduates. It's let her quit her job and she has more time with Liam, even if she pretty much has to share it with Claire. They've come a long way in just a few weeks.

Kenneth's kids are a bit of a surprise I still don't know what to make of entirely.

The youngest, Patrick, is a freshman in high school—at one of the top private schools in the city at that, but he hates school and keeps saying he doesn't want to go to college. I don't know if he'll change his mind or not, but I'd lean towards not since he, along with his brother and sister, have massive trust funds from his mother's side of the family they receive at eighteen. Mine's a nice little emergency fund compared to theirs and honestly, I'm glad. If I knew I had millions just out there waiting for me to use, I might be a bit of an ass like they are.

Bryant is the middle child, eighteen and about to graduate from the same school Patrick's in, and his plans after graduation include going to Europe and living on a beach somewhere. No matter how much Kenneth's urged him to reconsider, he's adamant about it.

Tiffany is his oldest, she didn't go to college and her ‘work' consists of shopping pretty much every day. She has her own place but comes to Sunday brunch. Beyond that, she likes to do her own thing.

If any of them were rude to Lucy or Liam, I'd never want to be around them. They're polite to us, maybe a little standoffish, but nothing like some of the rich snobs I've met on campus are.

The three of them are spending Christmas with their mother's family. Something that seems to be normal, except usually they spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning there, then went home to spend the rest of the day with Kenneth and Claire. This year, they're staying through Christmas Day, and then Tiffany is supposed to keep an eye on Patrick until Kenneth and Claire head back.

Lucy and I haven't decided yet how long we're staying. It depends on my parents' reaction to everything and how they take to Liam. It's also why I have a room booked for us at the only hotel in town just in case.

The car Kenneth rents is nicer than anything I've ever driven—even when compared to my parents' cars, and it's noticeable when we pull into the drive. My parents are in the front room when I open the front door, the surprise on their faces make me chuckle, and I give Lucy's hand a squeeze as she follows me in with Liam on her hip.

"Hey, thought I'd surprise you a day early," I state, stepping up to the doorway. They can't see Lucy yet, so I put my bag down next to the stairs and move further into the room. "Hope you don't mind I brought some guests with me."

"Guests?" Mom says, looking from me to Dad who looks just as confused as she is.

"Well, family more so than guests," I add bringing a ‘huh' from Jessa who's already home.

"What are you talking about, Jayden?" Dad questions as I move back to Lucy, taking Liam before nudging her in ahead of me.

"Lucy?!" Mom shouts, jumping up from her seat hurrying towards us but her feet stop short when I move in with Liam. "Jayden Michael Craig! What on earth?!"

"Oh my god!" Jessa snorts, looking from Lucy to me and I slip up behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"I know there's no way your brother would have touched her, so I'd say we have some things to discuss, Jayden," Dad states, his eyes promising it's not going to be pleasant for me, but they soften as they look back to Liam. "Want to tell us how long you've been keeping this a secret?"

"That I've been in love with Lucy…six years," I muse drawing another snorting laugh from Jessa and I give her a glare in return. "That I've known about Liam, about three months."

"Liam?" Mom says, hiding a smile behind her clasped hands. I can see the urge to reach for our little guy in her eyes that she's trying hard to resist.

"Liam Michael," Lucy tells her, dropping a kiss onto Liam's cheek making him giggle. "And this is your other grandma and grandpa, baby."

"Gan-ma!" he shouts looking around the room for Claire making me laugh at his eagerness to see her despite her holding him most of the flight.

"This is Grandma Shelly," I tell Liam, pointing at Mom. "Grandma Claire is waiting in the car."

"I'm sorry, Grandma Claire?" Jessa says coming over to us. "What the hel…heck is going on? Mom said that Lucy's dad left town suddenly and now there's a Grandma Claire?"

"You left people in the car?" Mom asks over my attempt to give an explanation. "What are you thinking? It's like thirty degrees out there."

"We didn't want to overstep, Mom. Claire and Kenneth said they'd wait in the car until we knew if we were staying or heading over to the hotel."

"Hotel? Why would you stay at a hotel and not here? Did you think I'd turn my grandson and his mother away?" Mom questions, her eyes promising retribution if I say yes.

"Just making sure I had a backup in case my wife and son didn't feel welcome here anymore," I answer honestly, chuckling as her and Jessa's jaws drop once more. I lift my hand up, resting it on Liam's back as his head snuggles on Lucy's shoulder, the light hitting on the diamonds in the band.

"You got married without us?" Mom asks letting out a little huff. "You better start explaining right now , Jayden—after you have Lucy's mother come in. I'd like to meet the woman that left her alone with her father."

"It's okay," Lucy says as I bristle a bit at her tone. She lifts up, giving me a soft kiss and takes Liam from me. "Just tell them to come in while we explain."

"I'll be right back," I promise her, dropping a slightly longer kiss onto her lips before getting Claire and Kenneth and returning as quickly as I can to my loves.

"Gan-ma!" Liam shouts holding out his arms for Claire when we come in. I take a seat next to Lucy on the love seat, smiling as Liam kicks himself down and heads straight for Claire when she and Kenneth settle onto the couch next to us.

"How long have you been back in touch?" Mom asks Lucy, the surprise at the resemblance between them in her eyes.

"Three weeks yesterday," Lucy answers, nodding at the shock amongst the group before she and Claire give an abbreviated explanation of the past. "When he disappeared, it's because he was arrested and then transported back to Alabama to face charges there."

"Oh my god. No wonder you didn't say a word to any of us about Liam," Mom says, coming over to hug her and all of my girl's tension fades. "You were afraid of him finding out and hurting him, weren't you?"

"I'd die if anything happened to him," Lucy says, giving her mom a soft, understanding smile for what Claire went through losing both her and Lisa.

"When Elliot called to say he'd found Lucy I didn't think anything could possibly be better, but then he added that he found her because of a marriage license, and I was so worried at what I'd find. She didn't let him tell me about Liam before they came over to meet us, so when I saw him, I thought my heart was going to burst. Then seeing her and Jayden together settled any fears I had about her marrying so young. She chose a good one," Claire adds and shit, hearing that in front of my parents that turns my ears red.

"I did, even without knowingly meaning to," Lucy teases me, and the color deepens.

"And how exactly did that come about and not that we're not thrilled about him, but Liam as well?" Mom asks, reaching over us to hold onto Liam's hand.

Our social little boy slips off Claire's lap and comes over to Mom, reaching up for hugs and kisses. She lifts him onto her lap hugging him, and he gives a little pout making Jessa laugh.

"Kisses!" Liam demands, pulling laughs from everyone else, including Mom as she kisses his cheek once. His little lip is still pouting a bit, so I reach over, lifting him in the air, bringing him down towards me.

"We'll just have to teach Grandma," I tease, giving him kisses all over his face and neck until he's chortling fully, sounding like he can't breathe. He flounces on his back across my lap, his head in Lucy's, still giggling and the look on Mom's face is priceless. "What?"

"Nothing…I just…I'm still in shock I think. Seeing you with a child…"

"His mama gave me a crash course, especially when it comes to Liam kisses," I state, tickling his belly a bit. "We haven't spent a night apart since I found them, well, other than when Mrs. Holmes kept him on our wedding night," I add, enjoying the way Lucy's face flushes at the reminder of it.

"And when exactly did you get married, let alone start a relationship with Lucy to begin with?" Dad asks, pulling us back to that.

"Well, our two-month anniversary was yesterday, and as for the rest…part of it is Jessa's fault," I warn, bringing a scoff to Jessa's throat.

"How exactly do you think it could possibly be my fault? You're the one that's been in love with her your whole damn life," she argues, and I shrug a bit as Mom's brow lifts a bit my way.

"Yeah, but you never told her that, so she had no clue I had feelings for her when you gave her a drink with alcohol in it at the year-end blowout. While telling her there wasn't any alcohol in it I might add," I tack on bringing a glare her way from Mom and Dad. "Which resulted in her getting a little more than tipsy, and I'll admittedly say that I drank way too much, and I take responsibility for that, but I didn't know Lucy had been drinking, to realize that she wasn't in her right mind. You knew she didn't drink and why, but you didn't care. You left her alone, and I found her. Was emboldened by being drunk and things happened. I don't regret them happening, not when it resulted in Liam, but I do regret the way it came about because it's not what she deserved."

"We'll discuss you drinking while well underage," Dad says my way before turning to Jessa with an even darker look. "You however need to explain right now why you would give Lucy alcohol knowing that she didn't want to drink, young lady."

"I wanted her to have fun and loosen up. She was always so serious, and I thought she should live a little. I didn't know her dad was that bad," Jessa added, her face at least showing a bit of remorse. "If I had, I'd never have done it."

"I think you owe Lucy an apology, a real one and not the line you gave her when she confronted you about it three years ago," I add not caring if it gets her in deeper trouble. Lucy's mine to protect, even when it comes to something that happened years ago.

"I am sorry. I just thought you'd go to college and waste away in some musty library, but if you saw that there's a world out there to live and enjoy that maybe you'd find some joy in it," Jessa tells her and for the first time I can see the friendship they had and what it meant to her in her eyes, hear it in her voice.

"Thank you and I know you were trying to help in your own way, and in a roundabout way it did. Having Liam…changed my whole life and it was for the better. No matter how much it required me to work to cover things for us, from the moment he was here, I felt loved and needed. He was the best birthday present I could ever receive," Lucy says, leaning her head against my shoulder and I drop a quick kiss to her lips before going to grab the photo books she had made up for my parents.

"If you have any doubts about that, it's all in here," I add to Mom, setting the four books on her lap which makes her jaw drop a bit. "The first three are basically all Liam, the last one's our wedding."

"You look so gorgeous," Mom gushes opening the first one finding one of the only pictures of Lucy pregnant with Liam she has in the front. She and Dad look through all of them, and even Jessa sighs at the photos from the wedding. "I wish we'd been there but at least I know one of my kids will marry, since you already have, and given us Liam. Any plans for more?" she sneaks in, and I kiss Lucy's bright cheek, holding her closer.

"Maybe in a few years. Right now, we want a little more time together with just us and Liam. Add in school, Lucy's job offer from the university when she graduates, and me having a few more years before I'll graduate, we've put a pause on those plans."

"At least we have Christmas to spoil this one, and enough time to shop for present still," Mom adds gleefully making me chuckle at the look on Lucy's face. "You're staying with us, aren't you? You can always use the in-law suite in the basement. Your dad could go to the store and get a toddler bed if we need one. The door to the rest of the house locks so you won't have to worry about him going anywhere. Claire, you and Kenneth can stay in our guest room down here to be closer if you'd like."

"What do you think, baby? It might be good to have a locked door, so someone doesn't try to sneak off in the mornings."

"He's an early riser like his daddy," Lucy tells Mom making her laugh, her eyes twinkling my way like it's a punishment for me being a morning person. "It would be nice to be with family instead of in the hotel. Wouldn't it, Mom?" she adds to Claire who looks like she's about to cry with the name still.

"We'd love to, but don't run anywhere. We bought a traveling toddler bed. Liam's used it to nap on at our place so it wouldn't be a rough transition for the trip," Claire states, and that night, it's a lifesaver. He's out like a champ, giving me an extra hour with his mama, savoring our first Christmas as a family. I can't wait for more. So many more.